Hey guys I was wondering what does a succesful applicant at Spaulding Rehab look like. Step score research etc. I know its unwise to limit onself to only one specific program ande I wont but would love to set my chances up at matching here. I have a big red flag of repeating a year so I know I will have a uphill battle (do you know what kind of Step would help make up for such a big redflag?). Any advice would be helpful
Chances at Spaulding
- Thread starter PMRlover
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board scores keep the door open. once you get to a certain point, most people do not care how high you go. people want to recruit residents that show consistent track records. low scores are a red flag. failing the exam is a red flag. red flags can close doors. the rest of your application needs to look great to compensate for red flags. repeating a year could be for many reasons... people can understand. if you really want to go to a single program, do a rotation there. they will get to know you. you will get to know them. or rotate with one of their prominent alumni at another institution. you will need to impress people. work ethic matters. personality matters. once the door is open, everyone is "smart enough"
board scores keep the door open. once you get to a certain point, most people do not care how high you go. people want to recruit residents that show consistent track records. low scores are a red flag. failing the exam is a red flag. red flags can close doors. the rest of your application needs to look great to compensate for red flags. repeating a year could be for many reasons... people can understand. if you really want to go to a single program, do a rotation there. they will get to know you. you will get to know them. or rotate with one of their prominent alumni at another institution. you will need to impress people. work ethic matters. personality matters. once the door is open, everyone is "smart enough"
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ANYONE’S chances of matching at Spaulding are poor. It’s among the most competitive programs and they have the luxury of selecting elite applicants. You really have to stand apart to match there.
So far, you stand out in a negative way. That’s not to say that you can’t turn it around. I suppose you could potentially do really well on your boards, though folks that have to repeat years for academic reasons don’t typically fall into that boat.
You really have to tighten up to have any chance of matching to Spaulding, or into PM&R for that matter.
So far, you stand out in a negative way. That’s not to say that you can’t turn it around. I suppose you could potentially do really well on your boards, though folks that have to repeat years for academic reasons don’t typically fall into that boat.
You really have to tighten up to have any chance of matching to Spaulding, or into PM&R for that matter.
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I have seen USMLE scores of residents from a range of programs - top to bottom. I have not seen a significant difference. In fact, more often than not, I wondered how certain residents got to where they were. The most reasonable explanation is that everything else matters just as much, if not more!
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I've seen people on here match mayo and spaulding with 225-229 Step score(and who also get interviews from many top places). I know one of those posters had good research and the other had done hella always. So even though I feel OP might be in a tough spot with a repeated year I think if he gets a 235+ step he might get a look. I also concede i have no knowledge of this process but I'm just using the info of the people on here who matched
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As j4pac mentioned earlier, top tier programs such as Spaulding do tend to emphasize numeric stats more so as a screening tool. Not to say you won’t be able to squeeze through the door with stellar extracurricular work along with the ability to prove genuine interest in the speciality. Speaking from my own experience, I had a 235-240 on Step 1, 240-245 on Step 2, a few non PM&R publications, and no red flags—matched happily but didn’t get an interview invite from Spaulding.
If you look at last year’s ERAS data, the total number of applicants didn’t increase by too much but the avg number of programs each applicant applies to did. If every program is receiving 300+ applications, it becomes quite difficult not to use numeric stats as screening tools, especially if it’s short staffed.
If you look at last year’s ERAS data, the total number of applicants didn’t increase by too much but the avg number of programs each applicant applies to did. If every program is receiving 300+ applications, it becomes quite difficult not to use numeric stats as screening tools, especially if it’s short staffed.
